10 years since we transited Panama Canal !

12 June 2019

Bill and Linda Anderson

I’m reminiscing here a little and I’m sure some things have changed since we transited the Panama Canal. Here’s my blog from 10 years ago:

Webcam photo taken at Miraflores locks 13 June 2009. Valiam is the closest on the port side of Infinity (catamaran) with La Barca on the starboard side "nested" together. A big thank you to Jerry, Yolanda and Paul for sending us the images. (more in gallery! click on that little camera!)

Saturday 13 June 2009
We are now on a mooring at Balboa Yacht club. the transit was both exhilerating and exhausting. We hope you saw us on webcam at Miraflores as we had the lock to ourselves! I know it was early for you! We made good time. We are presently entertaining and feeding/watering our linehandlers who were fantastic - English yachtie couple Nick and Cathy and aussie James. I took enough photos to fill an ablbum as well as movies. It was a great experience. Now we are in the Pacifico - Pacific ocean - 8000 miles to get home!!

As ships and tugs chug past us making Valiam roll from side to side I am reflecting back on the last day and night of our Panama Canal transit. It was exciting, scary, sometimes stressful, exhilarating and amazing. To think that the canal and its locks have been operating successfully for 100 years to allow ships to pass through to the Pacific rather than the long way around past Cape Horn is a feat in engineering and human effort (especially the labour - people from Caribbean, India and Africa. Now they are using machines to widen the canal and create new bigger locks.

From Shelter Bay Marina the 3 skippers of Valiam, La Barca and Infinity (catamaran) arranged with the canal authorities to do the transit together. We asked fellow yachties at the marina to be line handlers and had a barbeque the night before to get to know one another. We all certainly worked as a team and everything went very well. It was certainly nice to have yachties we knew staying overnight in our boat rather than Panamanians we didn't know. Although if we had to employ Panamanians it may have been an interesting cultural experience living together in close quarters for 24 hours.

Well here is the detailed blow by blow account:
On Friday the 12th June at 3pm we left Shelter Bay Marina with our crew of 5 to motor across the shipping lane and anchor what is known in Colon as 'the Flats'. Our advisors for the 3 yachts arrived by launch at around 5.30pm. Our first advisor was Astro who gave us a talk about all the dos and don'ts of line handling and what we were to expect. The 3 yachts motored off in line towards the canal entrance where we had to tie ourselves together whilst still moving slowly along. We managed to do this with the expert advice of our skippers and advisor with many fenders between us and Infinity (catamaran). A big blue ship with yellow cranes was just ahead of us and we had to go in behind it as we were sharing the Gatun locks with it. By 7.30 we were all ready and started to go through. The whole place was lit up with big lights everywhere. Lind handlers walk along the side of the lock with lines with 'monkey fists' on the end. Four of these are thrown to the yachts. Infinity controlled the 2 bow lines and Valiam and La Barca had one stern line each. After the line with the 'monkey fists' are caught they are tied through the big loop of the main lines we hired. The shore line handlers then pull these ropes (all the while we are moving along trying not to get the ropes caught anywhere!) and when we are in the lock secure us to the big bollards. The line handlers on each yacht secure the line in such a way so it can easily be slackened or tightened when necessary. The advisor on each yacht gives instructions. The driver of the flotilla was Mark's partner Lee on the catamaran. She had their advisor with her the whole time assisting with controlling the flotilla. Lee did an amazing job. Mark the skipper of Infinity was fantastic on the bow controlling one of the bow lines and assisting the other line handlers. Our main line handlers Nick and James worked hard especially James in Gatun locks. Gatun lock was the scariest and controlling the yachts to stay in the middle during the turbulence of the incoming water was a bit difficult at times. We were all a bit nervous as it was our first one. With each set of locks it became easier. Kathy and I were between the cat and Valiam watching and adjusting fenders if necessary as we rubbed along together. We didn't want our chain plates damaging this beautiful boat! During the whole trip I was in charge of looking after the crew and advisor for all their needs - drinks, food, instructions on how to use the toilet etc. The 'left over crew' were the paparazzi taking 1000s of photos and movies of the whole trip.

At around 9pm we arrived at the large buoy in Gatun Lake where we managed to tie up the 3 boats. Our advisor Astro left us here when the launch came to pick him up. He managed to take the mobile phone away from his ear when he said goodbye to us. (It seemed to be glued there the whole trip) Infinity and La Barca rafted together and Valiam on the other side. The buoy in the lake is a big red round rubber thing of about 3-4 metres wide. We could step out on to this and visit each other. Of course the catamaran became the 'Party Boat'. We shared food and drinks. Adam had promised a 'Party on the Lake' when we coerced out line handlers. Of course Adam and Bill had already spent 3 days here when stuck on the broken down boat. Our line handlers were grateful for the experience as they will be doing it themselves soon.

I did hear some howler monkeys in the distance that evening and was determined to have a quick dip in the freshwater lake. I did this around midnight conscious of the crocodiles so it was a very quick dip! Just on light we heard 'Bill! Bill! They're on their way!' (The advisors on the launch.) Bill had time to put on some shorts and crawl out of our hatch in our cabin so as not to disturb our sleeping guests in the saloon. Soon everyone woke up with the commotion and we were on our way. Roy our 2nd advisor was very conscientious and stayed either on our bow watching or back with Bill. The trip across the lake took 6 hours as we passed ships and watched the scenery. I made coffee and tea for everyone then breakfast (scrambled eggs, toast and mushrooms). Jam and marmite was also available for the mountain of toast as well as juice. Everyone including the advisor enjoyed their breakfast and we were all in good spirits. It's good to have plenty of cold drinks on hand for this trip - bottled water, coke and juice. As we were running early - 11.30am we were lucky and had the last series of locks to ourselves.

This time when we rafted up we made sure Valiam was a little further back as on the previous bit the lines tended to get caught around the anchor and rigging at the front. Whilst we were rafted up in the lake waiting to go in the lock a tug boat came by very fast. We jumped towards the middle where the boats were tied and Mark grabbed an extra fender and pushed it down with his feet as we moved up and down. Roy was angry with the tug boat waving his arms and swearing in Spanish. The tugs seem to cause the biggest waves and are supposed to slow down when passing smaller boats.

The last series of locks were great. Going down was much easier than going up the night before. It was a strange sinking feeling as we went down. It became an echo chamber which we all of course had to try out! When we go to Miraflores we knew the web cam was on us. Roy radioed them as he knew I was sending messages to Australia to get images of us. (Unfortunately it was 2-3am there!) We waved and dance about for the cameras. There was a crowd of tourists in a building alongside near what appeared to be a restaurant. I guess watching ships (and yachts) must be great entertainment. We heard both English and Spanish from a loudspeaker describing the lock process and 'the small sailboats'.

As the last lock gates opened to the Pacific, Roy said 'Look - your home!' It was a great moment. Bill put the chart plotter on large scale with the chart of Australia and if went in a straight line it would be 7,762 miles to Brisbane! He said 'We probably wouldn't bump into much!'

As we had to drop off our hired lines and line handlers at Balboa Yacht Club we headed there calling them up on the radio. Eventually La Barca and Valiam were directed to a mooring each. It was now about 1pm. Soon it started raining heavily. During lunch we phone Tony's taxi service to pick up the line handlers from both Valiam and La Barca. We received a couple of calls form Tony as he was delayed due to the heavy rain. Whilst waiting for the rain to ease we napped, looked at photos, and drank a bottle of champagne. Eventually when it wasn't too wet for the launch, the line handlers were finally able to leave both yachts at about 5pm. We really had a great time with them and hope to see them again. Nick and Kathy are also sailing to the Marquesas soon so we will hopefully catch up again - maybe in Galapagos.

Today we will go into town to look for an internet café and perhaps a bit of cheap shopping before getting together with the crews of La Barca and Infinity once more. (This is important to swap photos of each others boats!)

Captain Underpants having fun on his birthday!

01 May 2019 | Iluka, NSW

Bill and Linda Anderson

Here's Bill taking one of his fleet a restored Cruise craft he rescued from the tip a few years ago out for a spin. A hoon of course and a bit fast for this grandmother who has just had a hip replacement!

Linda’s new book ‘Love Your Guts’ released

11 April 2019

Bill and Linda Anderson

Yes after months of hard work, I'm proud to say I've published another book! A little different to my sailing stories but useful for you if you want to better your health easily! 100 Recipes good for your gut my artwork and Leanne's (Yoga4yachties)gentle yoga postures makes this book rather special. Brought from our galleys and kitchens to yours with love. Thank you to all my gut health friends who contributed recipes! $28 plus $12 postage anywhere in Australia. Overseas people email Linda : artistinthebush@gmail.comLinda's PayPal link
type in the amount, log in to your PayPal account and send me the money!
Here's the Blurb:LOVE YOUR GUTS - Simple Healthy Recipes for Everyone

Gut health has a huge impact on our physical, mental and emotional well-being. Eating foods that promote a diverse "microbiome" can have dramatic effects on your health, including your weight. Knowing which foods will feed those good bacteria and keep the bad guys away can be confusing, but it doesn't need to be!

Linda Frylink Anderson amazed us with her tales of adventure and sailing the world in SAILING IN MY SARONG and SALVAGE IN MY SARONG. The extended holiday, regular sundowners and indulgence in exotic cuisines around the world had its downside though, and the time came for Linda to make a healthy change.

She lost a sensational 30 kilograms (66 pounds) quickly and simply by eating for gut health! Now Linda is showing you how to LOVE YOUR GUTS too, with this collection of delicious, simple meals to make loving your guts easy and fun!

Seven year anniversary of Lati’s salvage in a Caribbean boatyard

05 April 2019

Bill and Linda Anderson

Facebook posts photos of our adventures recorded years ago. So 7 years ago Lati was pulled out of the water in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Far from impressive she was a forlorn grubby sight. No-one believed that we would sail across the North Atlantic in her followed by 3 years cruising the Med. But we did it! With Bills vision and elbow grease we got there. At 31ft , this 50 year old wooden boat of respected pedigree ( Kim Holman) kept us safe, snuck into cute harbours with tavernas ashore. Was she comfortable? Captain Underpants would say yes! Linda would say no. But the adventures we had (especially when she broke down) are all described with tons of pictures ( both photos and Linda's art) in her book Salvage in my Sarong
The Mediterranean dream in a rescued boat.

Bill and Linda fufilled a 30 year dream to sail around the world. First they built a boat in a paddock in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, Qld, Australia in 1994 with the help of friend Steve. [...]We called her 'Valiam' a combination of our kid's names Vashti and Liam! (not a drug - that's spelt differently....)
Since then she had a total refit, new rig and engine to prepare her for the recent voyage. Bill is the captain and Linda is the galley slave and communications officer!! Their 2 year circumnavigation was between 2007-2009.
THEN in 2012, my darling husband bought a cheap boat on eBay in St John, US Virgin Islands.This was 'Lati'. For 3 months, Bill worked solidly to restore this little ship. I helped as much as I could. She proved to be quite a seaworthy little vessel. See the photo gallery of restoration photos. She really was a mess when we bought her but our Lati was our home away from home in Europe for 3 summers. In 2012 we sailed Lati to the Azores then Portugal. 2013 - Portugal to Greece. In 2014 - we sailed Lati across the Agean and back from Greece to Turkey. Lati was sold in 2015 to new owners who sailed her to Norway where she now lives. Now we can spend more time sailing Valiam from Australia
We have talked about another circumnavigation...... but we shall see...

CIRCUMNAVIGATION ON VALIAM: We left Mooloolaba on the 7th November 2007, sailed to Townsville, leaving Australian waters on 26th November 2007 for PNG, Palau, Philippines, Borneo, Malaysia,Singapore, Cocos Keeling islands. We crossed the Indian Ocean to Rodrigues, Mauritius,Reunion and South [...]

Africa.(arrived October 2008)
In February/March 2009 we crossed the Atlantic to Brazil via St Helena island .We then visited parts of the Caribbean(Tobago, Grenada, Bonaire) .
In May we were on our way to the Panama canal via Colombia. We were then back in the Pacific ocean! The home run! We visited Galapagos, Marquesas, French Polynesia and visited Suwarrow one of the Cook Islands and Western Samoa. Next we sailed to Fiji, Vanuatu, then home to Australia! We completed our circumnavigation into Brisbane, Australia on 23rd, arriving in our home port Mooloolaba 26th November 2009 exactly 2 years after we departed Townsville in 2007.
In 2012, Bill bought a cheap 31ft timber boat needing tons of work on eBay. After 3 months of solid work we left the Virgin Islands for the Azores then the Med. This little yacht 'Lati' was our focus for 3 European summers.
Linda wrote and published a book called 'Sailing in my Sarong...Around the World - a 30 year dream' in 2010. On November 5, 2016 she is releasing her latest book 'Salvage in my Sarong - The Mediterranean Dream on a rescued boat.
A$39.95 plus postage.
email Linda:
valiam1@hotmail.com
to order your copy. Please state which book you require (or both!) Linda will sign each copy with a personal message!